Law and Ethics in Nursing Profession

Law and Ethics in Nursing Profession

Abstract

There are several moral principles and values that help to provide a framework for understanding conflicts with respect to the medical profession. A profound understanding leads to the conclusion that these moral and ethical principles one cannot survive without the other. Because of this each one helps to make the moral system effective. The three moral principles, including autonomy, beneficence,

Nurses and other healthcare professionals use ethical principles on a routine basis. Medical experts list the following ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, veracity, fidelity, paternalism, justice, and respect for others. For the purposes of this paper, the author will discuss the most commonly utilized and fundamental principles of ethics: beneficence, nonmaleficence, and autonomy are discussed with respect to particular scenario in each case.

Discussion

Bioethical principle of beneficence

Beneficence involves promoting acts of mercy, kindness and charity that benefit the patient. Focusing on beneficence means to set the dignity of the individual as priority (Rumbold 1999). Obligation to act on behalf of others, promoting their legitimate interests and removing prejudices is the main aim of beneficence. In medicine, this principle promotes the best interest of the patient, but regardless of this it assumes that the physician has adequate training and knowledge that the patient lacks, so that one knows (and therefore decide) what is best for it (Atkins & Lacey 2011).

A first obstacle to analysing this principle is that the patient rejects the view, due to lack of medical knowledge. However, individual preferences of physicians and patients may disagree about what is prejudice and what is good (Hall 1996). Therefore, it is difficult to defend the primacy of this principle, because if medical decisions are made from it, leaving aside other valid principles such as autonomy or justice. For health care providers, beneficence is a moral responsibility to act for the advantage of the patients. All acts of beneficence are not obligatory but in principle the act is to aid others further their interests (Silva 1990). Health care providers have obligations to confer benefits, to prevent and remove harms, and to weigh and balance the possible goods against the costs and possible harms of an action. The principle of beneficence requires the nurse to help others, and historically, the belief held in public health, is a failure to benefit others when in a position to help violates both professional and social duties (Hall 1996). According to the emerging theory of practice, beneficence is acting as a patient advocate, by supporting patients' decisions and protecting patients. In other words, according to the principle of beneficence, RN are obliged to protect patients from wrong site surgery, improper positioning, and ensuring that proper information is given to the patients about the risks of surgery (Paley 1996).

With relevance to the scenario, it is the responsibility of the senior RN, Kate to ensure the dignity of the patients as her first and immediate priority. For this, it is the requirement of the ethical and moral principle to seek prior ...